On October 25, 2022, protesters on the campus of the University of Huamanga in Ayacucho set fire to the door to the rector’s building on campus, and looted materials from there.
The protests had been ongoing for one day, with students’ demands including the rector’s resignation, better living conditions and accommodations, and a larger budget for the hiring of more university teachers. According to reports, the protesters threw a flammable liquid at the door to the rector’s building, setting off a large fire. They were able to enter the building, and reportedly left with items from the office, before the police dispersed them.
Scholars at Risk is concerned about violent and destructive actions in the course of a campus protest. While students have the right to engage in on-campus expression, such action must be taken responsibly and nonviolently. Destructive, dangerous actions in the course of a campus protest undermine academic freedom and university autonomy, and make the university space less safe.
Sources:
*SAR identified this incident in data made publicly available by the Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project (ACLED)